I.R.B. Like It or Hate It

1. This is the question that allows the reader to be brutually honest about their independent reading book. I hated the book that I picked because it was too childish, it was very hard for me to keep reading. I think that the book is for a male rather than a female because the main character is a little boy who makes up adventures in his mind. I feel like I was just too old to read it. There were parts in the book where I thought what was happening was cute, for example the Butter boys fighting with the Thunderbolt Kid. But the book was not that interesting to me overall. If I could have went back in time I probably would have chose something else to read because The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid was not the greatest book to chose.

I.R.B. Introduction

I was assigned to pick an independent reading book that is related to a travel narrative, and or diary & Latin America that relates somewhat to the Motorcycle Diaries. I decided to read a memoir also known as a diary for my independent reading project. The book I chose is called The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson, its a light hearted comedy about the author's childhood.

I.R.B. Thunderbolt Kid????

18. The title of my book is The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid. Why the author chose to title his book this way? He was called Thunderbolt Kid when he was little ,Billy Bryson, would run around the house and his neighborhood with an old jersey with a thunderbolt on it and a towel about his neck that served as his cape. He imagined that he was a superhero and he was going to save the world from all the wrong doing. I would not change the title because I think that the title suits the book pretty well. i would not want to change the author's individuallity on the book. the title that it has is just perfect for the book.

I.R.B. Superhero to the Rescue

15. In this picture it illustrates Billy, the main character, as being Thunderbolt the Kid. He is causing the Butter boys utter humiliation because they always pick with innocent kids smaller than them because they are bullies. The super hero saves the day and the public eye love Thunderbolt the Kid, however he has to stay clear so no one will know who he is. Or Thunderbolt the Kid will be discovered....dun dun dun.....

I.R.B. Deeper Meaning

8. The major theme in this book is childhood. Someone's childhood can play a great factor with the building of an responsible young adult. This book shows that while being a child and having the fun; it is just part of something that a child has to go through to build a normal healthy stable life as an adult. Thunderbolt the Kid just shows that it may not be that easy being a child, its a lot harder when fighting super villians of the "real" world. The book is very light hearted comedy, it would have been more interesting for a guy to read it because they would probably relate to the book more.

I.R.B. About Thunderbolt the Kid

10.Thunderbolt the Kid, is about the author Billy Bryson when he was a young boy. Billy grew up in a small town called Des Moines, Iowa during the time of the baby booming stage. He was the youngest out of him and his brother, they lived in a mid-class family with the perks of a normal life. However, he was not just an ordinary boy he was a super hero jumping over tall buildings, and fighting evildoers, well that was with his unquie sense of imagination. The major theme in this book is the pleasures of being a child and growing up to form a his own person in the future.

I.R.B. God's Name in Vein!!!

4. Billy, the main character swore to God, which surprised me because I was taught not to swear to God when I was a child. However when I read on I realized that the narrator too, was taught that he should not swear, he was just doing it as a form of disobeidence. I was surprised to find that in the 1950's and now there is still beliefs carried along through generations. As a reader it caught my attention that the narrator and I were taught the same things while growing up as a child, I thought that was very interesting.

I.R.B. Numbing Fear

2. The little boy Bill Bryson went to the dentist office, however the dentist is not an average dentist he is a nightmare for Billy. The dentist does not even use novocaine to take away the pain for his patients and I thought it was kind of weird for them to be in the waiting room with not a single soul....like they were his only patients. I thought that was so weird because every time i go to the dentist it is packed. By the way Billy described the doctor and his practices he seems to be a low buget doctor's office especially if he does not use novocaine, and does not have any patients. Why would his father take him there of all places? I would be scared too if I were him.

Who am I...

Che was a man who wanted to make a difference in peoples lives but in reality did not actually succeed at performing his goal.

To Be or Not To Be

At first Che went to school to medical school, due to him not being able to pursue his childhood dream of studying engineering because of his asthma. Then he left medical school and just traveled. At first I just thought that he was going to be a wandering soul that wanted to explore the world. However, after him entering into Chile he seemed like he wanted to make a change in the government. He started to voice his opinion about Chile's government and I think that was went he realized he wanted to be part of the government system. It just seemed like Che wanted to make the struggles of life to go away and make it better for his people of Latin America.

Inspiration

The election for the four presidential candidates of the Chile's president. Che describes all the candidates and he talks about how Chile needs to "shake that Yankee friend off its back" which he was talking about America and imperialism. In his entry Chile, a vision from afar, he talks about Chile's government and how it can be improved. The entry actually shows how he has an interest in politics the most. I think that in his trip to Chile he found his new love for politics.